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Watch out for wild things in wildlife

Bob.McNally@jacksonville.com Giant sharks much bigger than this small blacktip have been especially abundant this spring throughout much of Florida. credit line: photos by Bob McNally

Humorist Dave Barry pretty much owns the comedy line “you can’t make this stuff up.” But that zinger sure fits a lot of outdoor events in recent weeks. Here are but a few to make a sportsman shake his head, blink heartily, and maybe even chuckle.

FLYING FISH

The takeoff of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Gulfstream G-IV jet from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida was aborted after it collided with a 9-inch sheepshead on the runway.

Investigators surmise the fish was likely dropped from the air by a bald eagle in flight.

The sheepshead caused no damage to the NOAA jet, said base wildlife manager Lindsey Garven, but “it left a streak of fish guts.”

GIANT SHARKS

Adam Fisk, a Florida Atlantic University student in a kayak, got an unexpected two-hour tow from a hammerhead shark near Boynton Beach on Florida’s Southeast coast. The 6-minute video he silently took of part of that 12-mile adventure is making the rounds of national news websites. Fisk, 22, who said he’s hoping for a career with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, was taken about 8 miles by the 11-foot hammerhead before he released the massive shark.

After a Facebook posting of Ernie Polk at a Pensacola Beach filling station went viral, he and his cousin Joey Polk came forward and announced they’d landed an 11-foot, 805-pound shortfin mako shark off the Gulf Coast one warm night. The two cousins already hold a combined three world records from the International Land-Based Shark Fishing Association.

A bull shark measuring nearly 10 feet long and weighing 624 pounds was caught one April night on a Mark the Shark charter in South Florida. Capt. Mark “the Shark” Quartiano said the fish was caught in 10 feet of water off the Miami Beach hotel. Quartiano said the shark was hooked 100 yards from shore and its stomach contained half a tarpon, three jack crevalle, a hawksbill turtle and a permit.

SNAKES ALIVE

A man who stopped along South Florida’s Alligator Alley to catch a glimpse of the area’s famous reptiles was airlifted to an emergency care unit after he stepped on a cottonmouth water moccasin snake he didn’t see. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said the 29-year-old from Boynton Beach was bitten on the foot by the snake one evening after he and his girlfriend stopped their car, and got out to watch an alligator, apparently oblivious to the reptile near their feet.

Up in Rowan County, N.C., 82-year-old William Litaker spotted a couple of poisonous copperhead snakes behind a mobile home he used as storage. To rid the danger posed by the snakes, he thought he’d “smoke ’em out.” But his kerosene-induced smoke-snake-control-system destroyed a barn, two sheds and the mobile home containing collectibles and antiques.

BEARLY DIFFERENT

While protected Florida black bear numbers are booming, and dangerous people-bruin encounters mount, up in New York they understand how to keep the big, hairy and toothy animals in check.

New York hunters killed 1,358 black bears during the 2013 hunting season, the second-highest number on record, with a record 636 bears in the Southeastern bear hunting area and a near-record 342 bears (second highest take) from the Central-Western bear hunting area, according to the N.Y. Department of Environmental Conservation.

FORMAL CAMOUFLAGE?

With high school proms occurring across the country, and June weddings on tap, too, it’s a busy time of the year for Tioga, La.-based manufacturer Camo Formal, a company that’s riding a wave of popularity.

The formal-clothing maker goes through as much as 10,000 yards of camouflage satin fabrics in a 12-month period.

FLYING DEER

A whitetail deer plunged from an I-90 overpass near Barrington, Ill., slamming a minivan containing a mother and her four children traveling 70 mph.

Miraculously, everyone — except the deer — is OK.

The car was virtually totaled.

EVERYTHING’S DUCKY

A woman is suing the Estacada, Ore., owner of a domestic duck, claiming she suffered a broken wrist and sprained shoulder when the duck attacked her. Cynthia Ruddell is seeking $275,000 in damages, including roughly $25,000 for medical expenses, with the remainder being for pain, suffering and the toll her injuries have taken on her daily life. The suit claims the duck’s owner knew it had “abnormally dangerous propensities in attacking people.”

Then, up in Massachusetts, responding to a homeowner’s report of a loud banging noise and a possible intruder, North Reading, Mass., police officers discovered a confused — and sooty — wood duck hen that apparently entered the residence though a chimney. Officer Greg Connolly captured the wood duck and took it to a nearby pond, where it was released unharmed.